Nokia Face of Africa casting continues

Already the Nokia Face of Africa team has selected semi-finalists in Botswana, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Ethiopia and Kenya. The remaining casting session will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 18 at Novotel Hotel; Kampala, Uganda, on March 21 at Speke Resort and Country Club; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 24 at a venue to be advised; Accra, Ghana, on April 11 at Cresta Hotel; Lagos in Nigeria (date to be announced); and in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 22. The venues are still to be finalised. The entry requirements for the new season of Nokia Face of Africa state that any female between the age of 16 and 24 (as at August 2006) can enter providing that she is at least 1,74 metres tall and she has a maximum hip measurement of 36 inches. Further, would-be entrants should not have a current contract with any modelling agency, either locally or internationally. Any young woman from Sub-Saharan Africa who meets the above requirements is eligible to enter this year by simply attending a casting session in any of the 12 confirmed host cities. This year, as with last season, the prize of a modelling contract is again on offer for the Nokia Face of Africa 2006. And modelling executive Vicky Cursham plays a key role in the 2006 search as a principal scouting judge alongside gorgeous runway model Andiswa Manxiwa. The duo will be joined on their visits to the 12 confirmed African casting cities by an M-Net production team that will be filming the trip for later broadcast. During the 12-city visit, the scouting team will select its Nokia Face of Africa 2006 semi-finalists. Some of these semi-finalists will be announced just after the scouting judges leave their country whilst others will have to wait until April to discover if they have qualified as semi-finalists. From the magic to the mystery, it’s all part of the excitement of the continent’s premier modelling initiative! Once selected, the semi-finalists will then travel to two different locations for two rigorous “bootcamp” selection sessions. Thereafter, only the top 10 finalists will proceed to the Nokia Face of Africa 2006 Final, to be held in August this year at Sun City in Johannesburg. In July last year audiences across the continent tuned in to M-Net and watched as sensational Botswana-born Kaone Kario was named the Nokia Face of Africa 2005, walking away with an international modelling contract and pan-African fame. Meanwhile as young women across Africa get set to enter the competition, Kario urges them to consider her words: “Last year was my time, but this year could be your turn. If you don’t enter, you will never know how successful you could have been.” This is the sixth year that the Face of Africa project is running. Starting in 1998, it ran for four years before taking a short hiatus. Last year, M-Net and Nokia went into partnership and the project returned as the Nokia Face of Africa 2005. Now, as the Nokia Face of Africa 2006 gets underway, there are casting sessions confirmed for 12 African cities including Accra, Addis, Dar es Salaam, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Lagos, Lusaka, Luanda, Nairobi and Windhoek. Beginning in February and ending in April, the search is on! Previous winners of the title include Oluchi Onweagba (Nigeria), Benvinda Mudenge (Namibia).